Montessori Child Development Center in Calgary, Canada

What is the Reggio Emilia approach?

Reggio Emilia is a city in northern Italy. Its educational approach theory is based on Piaget, constructivism, Vygosky, Dewey, among others. A visionary Italian male teacher, Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994), founded the system, which was further developed with parents as a cooperative movement and now influences many schools, educators and leaders around the world. Educators, parents, and children began working together after World War II to reconstruct society and build an exemplary system of municipal preschools and infant-toddler centers.

Reggio schools offer an emergent curriculum, which is not planned in advance but based on children’s interests and experiences. Learning is active and project oriented with an ‘Atelierista’ as part of the team, a special teacher trained in the arts, and also an ‘Atelier’’, an art/design studio used by children and teachers. Our educators see each child as a talented being that offers prompts for curriculum design.

What to expect from educators and students in our school?
Educators may ask parents to bring real objects from home, as well as use of natural and recycling materials. Educators at Kido Care work collaboratively with each other organizing environments full of alternatives and provocations. We act as a recorder for the children, helping them express themselves through arts and actions as well as document art pieces and moments shared in class so they can learn by revisiting past experiences. We see ourselves as a provocation engaging in dialogue to create hypothesis and open-ended projects starting from a strong and enhanced vision of the child.

Kido Care, Inc. is a bilingual Montessori School in Calgary, Alberta. Call us today at 403-536-4061.